The Vow (Black Arrowhead #1) - Dannika Dark Page 0,15

seen me, I had blue hair. Or was it pink?

“You got a problem?” Jimmy growled. He was addressing Lakota.

My eyes fixed on the mirror when Lakota sauntered up. He eased between us and extended his arm, signaling the bartender for a beer with one finger. He smelled like leather and musk. It became incredibly difficult to remain nonchalant, especially with a guy who had always been playful with unrestrained physical affection.

The bartender popped the lid to a bottle and set it in front of him. When Lakota slowly turned toward me, he drew in a deep breath as if taking in my scent. His lips pressed tight like those of a man who wanted to say something. But he played it cool and strode off with his beer.

Jimmy lowered his voice. “You stay far away from them if you know what’s good for you. Those redskins ain’t nothing but murdering savages.”

I clenched my jaw. So help me, if someone uses a derogatory word one more time, I am going to set this place on fire. The last thing I needed to do was lose my temper and accidentally shift, so I pulled out my phone as a form of distraction.

“I’m dead serious,” he continued. “Some of the women around here look at them like forbidden fruit. Well, you know what happens to people who eat forbidden fruit.”

I looked at him with disdain. “They gain knowledge?”

“They get thrown out of the garden.”

“Go back to your beer, Jimmy,” the man to my right said, a smile playing on his lips. He propped his elbow on the bar so he was facing me all the way, his body language open. “I’m Crow.”

“Is that your animal or what you like to eat?” I gave him a sardonic smile and gulped down my drink.

Crow wasn’t my type. Imperious attitudes were common among Shifter men, especially when they were flirting, so that wasn’t a deal breaker.

But the way he kept inviting himself to touch me was.

I brushed his hand away from my arm. “Maybe you should go check on your goat in the parking lot so I don’t hit him with my car when I leave.”

“Anything I can do to make you stick around for another drink?”

I swiveled to face him. Because my wet tank top had stretched lower than usual, his eyes took an unapologetic detour down to my cleavage. He looked slightly disappointed at my shortcomings. My breasts were large enough to identify me as a woman but did not hold a man’s rapt attention for long. My legs, on the other hand, did.

But Crow never got that far. His gaze fixed on the turquoise pendant around my neck—one Hope had urged me to wear as a means to impress the dealer. “What was the name of the person you’re looking for?”

“Shikoba. Do you know where he lives? I just want to make sure I’m heading in the right direction. And before you ask, my business is none of your business.”

He lit up a cigarette and took a drag. “Look, normally I don’t get mixed up in their affairs, and you shouldn’t either, if you were smart. This isn’t the big city, and naive little girls like you get hurt. But I’m a sucker for a damsel in distress.”

When laughter broke out on the other side of the room, I recognized Lakota’s laugh. Somehow, my brain filtered it from all the others. What is he doing here?

Crow released a smoky breath and gestured to my folded map. “Let me have a look at that.”

I handed it over and watched him analyze it closely.

“Here,” he said, pointing near two faded lines. “The turnoff is right past my place. It’s easy to get lost in Running Horse. We’re not on the map. Want me to show you the way?”

“No, that’s not necessary. If I can navigate I-35, I can do anything. Thanks for the info.” I hopped off my stool and dug through my purse.

“Don’t I get a name? Or should I just call you Violet?”

“So we’re here?” I asked, pointing at intersecting lines to confirm.

When I answered his question with a question, he stared at me for a spell. Finally, Crow shook his head and moved my finger to the left. “No, darlin’, we’re here. Careful not to lose your way.”

I set a twenty-dollar bill under my bottle and decided not to ask for the change. Not that the food or the atmosphere was stellar, but better not to burn a bridge while I was